How it all ends
There’s nothing like watching a good thriller movie. You know in this genre, the last Act will have all sorts of twists and turns. The good guy may become the bad guy, or the friend or ally of the main character may be revealed as an opponent, the one who was harming her all along. It doesn’t always happen this way, but you can almost always count on a reversal or a twist at the end of a good thriller story.
I have to confess, I often cheat when I watch or read thrillers... I turn to the last chapter or I check on Wikipedia to see what happens at the end. I like to see where everything is leading. I know it's terrible... But knowing the resolution makes it more interesting from a creative perspective. At least it does for me. I can get into the writer’s head. The bible is no different. I really enjoy reading the last book of the bible, The Revelation to John, to remind myself exactly where the story is heading. There’s lots of twists and turns with an exciting ending that makes the entire story of the bible even more thrilling.
One my favorite chapters and verses that gives a hint to the dynamic destination that we’re heading toward is Revelation chapter 22 verse 5:
[Revelation 22:5 NASB] 5 And there will no longer be [any] night; and they will not have need of the light of a lamp nor the light of the sun, because the Lord God will illumine them; and they will reign forever and ever.
John uses the example of the light of the sun (the brightest thing we know) and a lamp (something used in our personal day-to-day life) to show us how bright and intimate the Lord Jesus will be in the earth and in our lives when the new heavens and new earth are fully revealed.
Of course, when we peek ahead at the last scene of a story, especially Revelation 22:5, we often get excited on the current path of the narrative - how will the existing plot situation get us to this extraordinary ending?
In John chapter 8 verses 12 through 20, our passage for tomorrow, we read that Jesus is the very Light of the world. But how does the world become so filled with the Light of Christ, to cause John to use the brightest star (the sun) to compare how exposed and transformed this world will become?
Tomorrow, by digging into the final ‘Feast of Booths’ exchange between Jesus and the Pharisees, we will get a good look into the answer of that very question. Feel free to read through all of chapter 8 and also take a look at Exodus chapter 2 and 3 for some background into Jesus' words, ‘I AM the Light of the world’.
